A Nigerian father is embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to keep his daughter, Linda, in the United States after a DNA test revealed he is not her biological father. James Odiete, who has supported Linda since her childhood, was granted an I-130 petition for her entry into the U.S. in 2007. However, over a decade later, when he attempted to upgrade her immigration status to permanent resident, the results of a DNA test threw their case into turmoil.
DNA test sparks immigration dispute
As part of the immigration process, USCIS requested additional documents from Mr. Odiete to prove his relationship with Linda, including her birth certificate, tuition records, and photographs. The agency also required a DNA test. While Mr Odiete presented proof of his ongoing financial and emotional support for Linda, the DNA test revealed that there was no biological connection between them.
“The result of the DNA concluded that Mr Adex Odiete was not her biological father,” court filings from 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California revealed.
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Mr. Odiete’s lawyer, Jovi Usude, stated on January 22 that “Mr Adex Odiete, her father, had been a victim of a paternity fraud perpetrated by the mother of Linda Odiete.”
Despite the revelation, Mr. Odiete continued with his efforts to secure permanent residency for Linda, maintaining that their relationship was about more than just genetics. “Despite the knowledge derived from the DNA, Mr Adex Odiete has continued to stand by and support his daughter,” the court documents explained.
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However, Mr. Odiete was unaware that USCIS had revoked Linda’s I-130 petition in 2017, as a result of the DNA findings. The agency did not inform him of this revocation until 2022, when Mr Odiete visited their office for an update on his daughter’s status adjustment. At that point, he discovered that Linda no longer had permission to stay in the country.
USCIS revocation and delayed notification
This delay in communication led Mr Odiete to file a lawsuit against the USCIS, alleging that his rights had been violated by their failure to notify him in a timely manner. “I was never notified by the USCIS, that the approval of my daughter’s I-130 petition had been revoked. I became aware that USCIS had revoked my daughter’s approval when my daughter and I attended her interview to adjust her status here in the United States of America,” Mr. Odiete asserted.
Mr. Odiete referred to section 205c of the law governing the revocation of petition approvals, which mandates that “if upon reconsideration, the approval previously granted is revoked, the director shall provide the petitioner or self-petitioner with a written notification of the decision that explains the specific reasons for revocation.”
He further argued that his “due process right was taken away” and asked the court to block his daughter’s deportation to Nigeria until the case was fully resolved. In addition, he sought an order to reinstate Linda’s previously rejected I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status.
